Freedom Lost – The Ukrainian Carve Up Begins

What a sad day it is for those of us that believe in a free, independent and democratic Ukraine. Today was the day that two Presidents signed deals to take over their respective parts of this once independent nation.

In Moscow Vladimir Putin was emotional as he accepted the Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile in Brussels Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Union, was signing a deal that sets what is left of the Ukraine on a course to EU membership.

I find it extremely frustrating that in our modern world there is an assumption that Ukraine has to be ceded into a bigger country: the only debate is whether it should join The Russian Federation or the European Union.

Now I have to admit, if I was Ukrainian I would much rather live in Von Rompuy’s EU than in Putin’s Russia. But overall I’d rather not live in either, and I would feel aggrieved that no one is listening to the voices of people who just want to be Ukrainian.

What is the problem with saying you believe in self-government? In the Nation State? In a democratic government in your own country, not an undemocratic one based in someone else’s? That you don’t want Moscow or Brussels telling you how to live your life?

In 1989 Ukrainians saw the light at the end of the Soviet tunnel, and they celebrated their freedom from tyranny. But don’t forget they were also celebrating their independence, their right to be governed by their own people in their own capital city, Kiev. A right they finally achieved in 1991.